At least three organisations are mounting legal challenges over their respective omission from the list of 33 recipients eligible for statutory levy funds for gambling-related harm prevention and treatment in England, EGR has learned.
Gamban, a Southampton-based company which provides gambling blocking software, has confirmed it is pursuing a judicial review – a court procedure in which a judge scrutinises the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body.
Usually heard in the Administrative Court – a specialist branch of the High Court of Justice – a judicial review examines the way a decision was made, rather than the rights and wrongs of it.
EGR understands that at least two other organisations – both registered charities – are also in the process of submitting applications for a judicial review, after they too were omitted from the provisional allocation of £25.4m from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ (OHID), announced in April.
Both declined to comment when contacted by EGR.
Of the 33 voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations to qualify for funding covering a two-year period, GamCare was provisionally awarded the largest share of the pot at just over £4m, followed by £3m each to fellow registered charities YGAM and BetKnowMore.
Sitting within the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), the OHID is tasked with distributing funds collected through the statutory levy, after GambleAware, which previously acted as the primary commissioner, ceased operations at the end of March.
GambleAware acted as the commissioner under the previous voluntary levy system. Now, instead of making voluntary contributions, online operators have to hand over 1.1% of their gross gambling yield from the prior year.
The statutory levy raised almost £120m in its first year, £20m more than had been anticipated, with the funds ringfenced solely for research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm.
EGR understands Gamban explored the option of a subsidy control challenge, whereby a party looks to challenge a public authority’s decision to award public funding, yet it decided instead to seek a judicial review.
Judicial review applications across England and Wales increased 24% year on year (YoY) to 3,700 in 2025, including a 56% YoY rise during October to the end of December.
Gamban, which up until 31 March was available for free via TalkBanStop through a partnership with GamCare and non-profit GAMSTOP, has previously said its status as a limited company was the reason for its exclusion from the list of organisations approved for funding.
BetBlocker – a registered charity which like Gamban allows people to block themselves from legal and illegal gambling sites and apps – was provisionally allocated just over £1.1m for 2026 to 2027 and 2027 to 2028.
Gamban has pivoted to a subscription service in England and Scotland that costs £4.99 a month or £29.99 for a year.
Director Matt Zarb-Cousin told EGR: “The success of TalkBanStop, which came to an end following the closure of GambleAware, shows the importance of Gamban being available at the point of need in England.” He refused discuss the specifics of the judicial review application.
One industry source, whose organisation was refused statutory levy funding, said they didn’t think it was “unreasonable” to expect legal challenges.
When announcing the 33 organisations, the OHID said it undertook a “robust, fair and transparent assessment process” and conducted “strong due diligence checks” in line with risk and assurance thresholds required for public funding.
When EGR approached the DHSC regarding the potential for judicial reviews, a spokesperson replied: “We will not comment on matters regarding legal action.”
The OHID receives 30% of the statutory levy, with the remainder allocated for non-departmental public body UK Research and Innovation (20%), as well as NHS England and the Scottish and Welsh governments (50%).
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) initiated a Gambling Levy Transition Fund to ensure a smooth switchover and “no break or gap in provision” from the voluntary arrangement administered by GambleAware to the new setup.
Transitional funding lasts for three months, starting 1 April, and is available to organisations delivering prevention or treatment of gambling harm that were unsuccessful in securing funding for the next two years.
In April, EGR exclusively reported that BetBlocker’s lawyers had written to NHS Wales to question why a £220,000 contract to provide free gambling blocking software to citizens in Wales was awarded to Gamban without a competitive tender.
Last week, we revealed the Netherlands Gambling Authority had invalidated both bids submitted by Gamban and BetBlocker for a similar contract in the Dutch market.
The regulator said no decision has yet been made on whether to rerun the tender process.
The post Exclusive: Some organisations excluded from statutory levy funding seeking judicial review first appeared on EGR Intel.
Gamban is one entity to confirm it is pursuing a legal challenge after being refused a share of more than £25m provisionally allocated by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
The post Exclusive: Some organisations excluded from statutory levy funding seeking judicial review first appeared on EGR Intel.